Potato-planter.



F. E. MENDENHALL.

POTATO PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.23.1911.

Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

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FQE. MENDENHALL.

POTATo PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.23A 1917.

Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

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POTAU) PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED 1A|\1.23.|917.l

1,298,75. Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

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FRAN K E. MENDENHALL, OF KILGORE, NEBRASKA.

POTATO-PLANTER.

" 1,298,756, Specication of Letters Patent. Patented Apr, 1, 1919,

Application led January 23, 1917. Serial No. 143,927.

To all whom t may concern: wheel 11, which is connected by a chain Be itknown that I7 FRANK E, MENDEN- 12 with a sprocket wheel 13v on a counterHALL, a citizen of the United States, and a shaft'14 journaledin theadjacent arm of resident of Kilgore7 in the County of Cherry the archbar. This counter-shaft carries a 60 and State of Nebraska, haveinvented eersprocket wheel 15 which is connected by a tain new anduseful Improvements in Po- Chain 1G With a Wheel 17 0n the hub Of thetato-Planters, of which the following is a dropping wheel, to be laterdescribed. Thus specification. when the clutch sections are inengagement My invention is an improvement in potato With each other, itWill be ObViOuS that the 65 10 planters, and has for its object toprovide a 'droppingwheel will be driven.

planter` l of the character specified wherein The droppingwheel 18, asshown, is prothe cuts are taken from a hopper in sucvided with impalingforks 27 which are cession and are delivered one by one into projectedand withdrawn from the wheel to a leg or dropper chute, and wherein afurpick up and discharge the potato cuts, and 70 row opener is providedin connection with a hopper 32 is provided for holding the cuts, thedropper. chute for opening a furrow to the impaling forks moving throughan exreceive the cuts, and wherein coveringmechtension 31 at the lowerend of the hopper to anism is provide for covering the cuts pick up thecuts. c after theyv have been dropped into the fur- A furrow opener 36is supported in front 75 row and other mechanism for simultaneously ofthe dropping wheel and the feed chute, lifting the furrow opener, thecovering mechsaid furrow opener beingl of the usual conanism, and fordisconnecting the dropping struction and having its upturned front enddevice from its operating mechanism. connected by a link 37 with thetongue.

In the drawings: This furrow opener has a beam 38. 80 Figure 1 is alongitudinal section through Each of the arms o`f the arch bar carriesthe improved planter, c at the front thereof a sectional bearing 39 Fig.2 is a top plan View, in which is journaled the oEset ends 40 of Fig. 3is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. a shaft consisting of the said endsand a 2, looking in the direction of the arrows ad- `body portion 41,which is journaled in the 85 jacent to the line, beam. It will beevident that when the shaft Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4--4 of Fi41 is oscillated, the furrow opener will be- 1, looking in the directionof thel arrows araised and lowered at its rear end. The dropjacent tothe line, v ping chute delivers the cuts into the furrow Fig. 5 is aside view of the voperating opener so that they fall directly into thefur- 90 35 mechanism for the plow, and the covering row opened by thefurrow opener, and they mechanism. g are covered by the coveringmechanism In the present embodimentofthe invenshown in Figs 1, 2 and 4.non, a frame 1s provrded, consistingv of an l The Saldmechamsm comprisesa pair 0f arch bar 1 having openings in its arms disks 42, which arejournaled on stub shafts 95 40 through which pass the axle 2, and setscrews 43. These stub, shafts engage slots 44 in 3 are threaded throughthe arms into yenarms 45 which have inwardly extending gagement with theaxle, and the axle is also journal pins 46 received in bearings 47 onkeyed in one of the openings as indicated V the rear of the arms of thearch bar 1. j The at 4. A tongue 5 is connected with the'arch stubshafts 43 are held in place in the slots 100 bar and the tongue supportsa seat 6. by nuts 48, and it will be evident that by Wheels 7 arejournaled on the ends of the loosening the nuts the disks may beadjusted axle and the tongue is braced against the with respect to thearms, and the disks are axle by inclined braces 8. inclined toward eachother in such manner One of the wheels 7 is provided with one that eachwill throw the dirt inwardly 105 50 of the parts of a clutch, the otherpart being toward the other disk, and the cuts in the on a sleeve 9which is normally pressed into furrow will be covered. engagement withthe wheel by means of a Means shown in Fig. 3 is provided for coilspring 10 encircling the axle between 4tightening the chain 16. The saidmeans the arch bar and the s eeve. Mechanism to comprises a cross arm 49secured to the adj a- '110 be later described is provided for operatingcent arm of the arch bar 1 by means of a the clutch, and the sleevecarries a sprocket bolt and nut 50, between the axle 2 and the cross armwith respect to the line connecting the shafts 2 and lever 52,` shown inFigs. 2 and 5. This lever is rigid with one of the ends 40 lof the shaft4`O`41, and the said lever is provided' with latch mechanism 53 whichcooperates with a quadrant 54 supported by the axle 2 and the shaft40`4l.

reel or pulley 55 is secured to the portion 40 of the shaft adjacent tothe lever, and' upon this reel or pulley winds one end of a chain 56.The otherendv ofthe chain is connected to one of the arms. 59 of a U-shaped bar consisting of the said arms and a body 59L extendingtransversely of the tongue beneath the same, the arms extend-v ingrearwardly from the body. p ach arm is pivoted to the arch bar as shown,near the rear end of the arm, and a second chain 57 connects the rearend of each arm with the adjacent arm 45.

It will be evident. that when the lever 52 1s moved in the direction towind up the chain, that is in the direction of the arrow, the body 4l ofthe shaft 40`4l will be lifted. The bar 59-59a will be swung downward atits forward end, and through the chain 57 the covering mechanism willalso be lifted. By moving downward the body of they bar 59-59a, thelcovering mechanism may be lifted yindependently of the shaft 40-41.

cam arm 60 is connectedl with the other portion 40 of the shaft 40`41,the said arm having a hub 61 held in place on the said portion 40 oftheshaft by a set screw, as shown, and this arm passes through a slot 62 ina lever 63 which is pivoted at its upper end to the bracket 58 andengages at its lower end the sleeve 9. This cam arm is so shaped thatwhen the body 41 of the shaft 40`41 is lifted, the lever 63 will bemoved in a direction to release the sleeve 9 from the adjacent wheel.

rigidly to the arch bar while the body is connected to the tongue by ahanger 66. A

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by Washington,D. C.

'the feed hopper,

`the front of the wheel I per being at the rear .theb

of the tongue,

s rin 67 is arranwed between the rear end of the furrow opener and theframe or arch ar for countenbalancing the said rear end. n operation,the potato cuts are placed in as shown, and the feed opening of thehopper is regulated by means of the door 33 so that a number of' cutsywill lie upon the exte sion 31 without falling off. l/Vhen themachine'is ready for operation, the furrow openerv isloweredto theground, as are also the disks, and the same lever which performs these.operations throws. the dropping mechanism into gear.A As the machinemoves forwardly the dropping wheel will be rotated and the impalingforks'27 will pass in succession through the exten sion of the hopper,and each fork wil-lzpick up a single cut. As the forks pass over to anddown the same, the cuts will bey dislodged as the forks withdeliver themthrough furrow v:opener into the furrow, which has been opened by thesaid opener. Asy the disks roll along, they will turn the .dirt into`the furrow, covering lightly the just deposited cuts.

claim: A v

l. In apotato planter, an axle, wheels on the ends: of the axle, an archbai' lhaving bearings in its arms, an axle. journaled in the bearings, atongue secured to the body of the arch bar and extend-ing beyond thearch bar at its rear end, a hopper forl holding potato cuts secured tothe said rear end of the tongue, a dropping wheel on the axle betweenthe arms of the arch bar, said'hopof the` dropping wheel and having anextension provided with a slot in its bottom, the dropping wheelhavgagement by the forks, a shoe delivering to the of the wheel.

In a potato the ends of the axle,

earings in its arms an axle journaled vin earings, a tongue secured toof the arch bar and extendingbeyond the arch bar at its rea-r end,ahopper for-holding potato cuts secured to the said rear end a droppingwheel on *the axle between the arms of the larch bar, the dropping wheelhaving means for engaging the potato cuts in the hopper.v

FRANK E.` MENDENHALL. Witnesses:

Lnwis GooDRIoH,

. C. SNYDER.

opener and in front an p arch bar having addressing the "commissioner ofPatents,

planter, an axle, wheels on the body

